Improvement in automatic gates



UNITED'ASTATES' PATENT oF'FIcE;

"JosEP'H I..` MANLovaonPARis, ILLINOIS.

lmfRoyr-:MENTJN AuToMAHCGATEs.

lSpecification forming part of; LettersPatent/No. 1745,47, dated March 7, 1876', application led Novemberl, 1875.

To all whom it may concern Beit known, that I, JOSEPH L. MANLOVE, of Paris, in the county of Edgar and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Automatic Gates, of which the following is a specification This invention relates to that class of double gates through which vehiclespass, and which open and close automatically when the rods attached to them are acted upon by the passage ot' the wheels of such vehicles over them. The object of this vinvention is to provide means for facilitating the opening and closing of the gates. To attain this, my improvement consists of obliquely-slotted hingeplates secured to the lower ends of the gate-posts, and hooked plates secured tothe lower ends of the gate-frames nearest the posts, the hooks of the latter plates playing in the oblique slots of the former, so that when the rods which are attached to the hooks move the latter in the slots, (the upper ends of the frames turning on ordinary permanent hin ges,) the gate will be overbalanced, and will open or close as the case may be.

In the annexed drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my improved automatic gate. Fig. 2 shows the shape ot' my improved hinge-plates. the latches attached to the center block.

. Into the upper ends oi' two ordinary gateposts A and Al hooks a2 are driven, while to the lowerends of the same obliquely-slotted hinge-plates a and a1' are secured. These plates, the shape of which is clearly shown in Fig. 2, are preferably made of castiron, while the hooked plates C and U', (see Fig. 2,) which tghtly clamp the lower ends of the frames B and B', are preferably made of wroughtiron. Into the upper ends of the gate-frames, nearest the posts, eyes or staples b are driven. When the frame B is hung in position on its post A, the hook o of plate C on said frame, descending through the slot in hinge-plate a on post A, is embraced bythe hooked ends of the three rods D, E, and F.' The rod D, the first to embrace hook c, and which is laid in the direction in which the gate opens, exceeds rods E and F considerably in length. Its outer end is pivoted to the crank-arm g, which is permanently secured to rock-shaft Gr.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of This V'rock-shaft stretches across the drive parallel withthe gate/and is held in position by staples g3, or may turn in bearings of suitable blocks. The rod AE,occupyinga central position on the hook c, traverses the ground parallel with, and immediately under, the gate, and terminating a short distance beyond vthe center block K, is pivoted with its hooked end to the short arm of lever L, which is fulcrumed at l, and forms a connecting-link between rods E and I, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. tioned that the throw of rod E will impart the required throw to rod I to move hook o from one end of' the slot in plate a to the other. One end-of rod I being pivoted to the long arm or' lever L, its other hooked end encircles hook o of the plate C on frame B. 'The rod F, which occupies the lowest position on hook c, and the length of which is about equal to half of that of rod D, is laid across the ground in anv opposite direction to the latter. It is pivoted to the crank-arm h, which is permanently secured to rock-shalt H. The rock-shafts G and Il have each two bows, g1 and g2 and h1 h2, respectively, standing atan angle of about ninety degrees to` each other, as usual.

The gate is opened and, closed in the following manner: When the bow h1 of rockshaft H is forced down by the wheel of a vehicle, the crank h, by turning, will set all the rods in motion. Thus, while rods F and D are pulled back, and rock-shaft Gr is made to turn in its bearings, depressing bow g1 and raising bow g2, the rod E pushes forward and,

by turning lever L on its pivot, causes said lever to pull back rod I, so that, as both the hooks c and c have their positions in the respective slots changed at one and the same time, while the upper hinges remain stationary, the frames B and B are overbalanced and will swing open. -The latches Msecured to the stakes N, asin Fig. l, andwhich are made of spring-steel, catch the lower and outer ends ot' the frames and hold them securely while the vehicle passes through the gate. As the wheel of the Vehicle forces down the' raised bow g2 of rock-shaft G, the rods D and F are pulled forward, and rockshaft H turned in its bearings h3, while rod The arms of lever L are so propor- E, being pulled back, will cause the lever L The latches are held apart by means of an` other block which is placed inside the block K. A box, buried in the ground, may be used to cover the rods between the posts, and will at the same time act as a brace for the gate-` posts. The rod D is carried over an antitricton roller r on the lower tang of the staple R, which is driven into the stake, thus reducing the friction and facilitating the movements of the rods.

. The rock-shafts G and H, intersecting the drive, sh'ould be of a length sucient to allow thebows thereof to be so far apart that when the front wheel at one side of a vehicle depresses and .passes over one bow there will be no danger of the raised bow` coming in contact with the other wheels of such vehicle.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination, substantially as before set forth, with a pair of gates, each of which ishung to its post at cne end by an ordinary hinge, and at the other end by a hinge composed of an obliquely-slotted plate and a hook orv pintle, of the arched or bowed rockshafts G H, the cranks g h thereon, the rods r- D F for connecting the cranks to the pintle of the adjusting hinge of one of the gates, and the rods EI and intermediate lever L for connecting the pintles of the adjustable4 J. L. MANLOVE.

Witnesses:

JOHN OsBoRN, J. J. LOGAN. 

